Comentário sobre Levítico 24:14

השמעים THEY THAT HEARD — This refers to the witnesses.

For you caused [it] to yourself. Some explain [that the witnesses were saying], “We will not be punished [for testifying against you],” even though the witnesses have to testify [the actual blasphemy] they heard from the blasphemer. However, this is not implied in Rashi.

וסמכו, “and all who heard the curse are to place their hands, etc.;” what was the reason for this procedure which had to be performed on the bodies of all people about to be executed legally? The reason is that when judgment was passed, the witnesses on whose testimony this sentence was based had been forced during the proceedings to literally quote the words used by the blasphemer in doing so. This had made them perform this symbolic act by means of which they transferred any guilt that they had been burdened with through that to the blasphemer before the latter was executed. כל השומעים, “all who had heard it;” seeing that he would be executed by stoning due to their testimony.

כל ALL [THOSE THAT HEARD] — 'all' serves to include the judges also (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 1).

In the presence of the entire congregation. You might ask: How does Rashi know this? Perhaps the verse implies its plain meaning as taught in the Mishnah of Perek Nigmar Hadin (Sanhedrin 45a), “He is stoned by all Yisroel,” and the Mishnah there is speaking of all cases when people are liable to death? The answer is: There it is different because the Mishnah says, “One of the witnesses pushes him [so that he falls onto] his back [lit. loins] ... If he died through this, the obligation has been fulfilled. And if not, he is stoned by all Yisroel as it says, “The hand of the witnesses shall be upon him first to kill him, and the hand of the entire nation in the end” (Devarim 17:7). This [indicates that] we require the hand of the witnesses be first. But here it is written, “The entire congregation shall surely stone him,” implying that they should all stone him immediately, and thus the verses apparently contradict each other. Therefore, Rashi answers that although the witnesses’ hands are is certainly first, this should be [done] in the presence of the entire congregation so that it is as if the entire congregation stoned him, because a man’s agent is like the man himself. (Nachalas Yaakov)

ורגמו אותו, “and they (all) have to stone him.” This was because that person had converted to Judaism. If he had not converted, he would still have been guilty of the death penalty, but, like all gentiles, he would have been executed by the sword, following the appropriate warning of what he was risking by committing that sin, and, of course by eye witnesses testifying against him. We have now heard of the penalty for blaspheming, but where did we read about the warning not to commit this sin, especially that it applies also to gentiles? It is found in Genesis 2,16-17, according to the Talmud Sanhedrin, folio 56, combined with Exodus 22,27, “you must not curse G-d.” אותו “him,” but not his clothing. (Sifra)

את ידיהם [AND ALL THAT HEARD HIM SHALL LAY] THEIR HANDS [UPON HIS HEAD] — They said to him: your blood is upon your head; we do not deserve punishment on account of your death, for it was you yourself who brought it about (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 2).

כל העדה ALL THE CONGREGATION [SHALL CERTAINLY PELT HIM WITH STONES] — (This means: the witnesses shall stone him), all the congregation standing by (because it cannot possibly mean that all the 600,000 men comprising the whole of the congregation should stone him). From here, we may derive the legal principle that a man’s agent is as himself (i. e. that his actions are legally of the same effect as though they were carried out by those for whom he acts the order) (cf. Sifra, Emor, Chapter 19 23).